India v/s South Africa Twenty20 series: Six one-on-one encounters to watch out for

South Africa are set to play their longest-ever series in India comprising three T20s, five ODIs and four Tests starting Friday. The series begins with the first Twenty20 international, in Dharamsala.

There should not be any dearth of entertainment with both the sides packed with natural entertainers who can take the game away from the opposition in the blink of an eye. India will enjoy the upper hand due to the home support. They also have a 6-2 lead over their African counterparts in T20 Internationals played between the two countries.

Let's take a look at some of the individual battles which await us in the Twenty20 series from Friday.

Rohit Sharma v/s Marchant de Lange

The 'hitman' of Indian cricket as Rohit is called by the aficionados will look to give a flying start to his team and lay a foundation on which the Kohlis, Rahanes and Dhonis would like build up a monumental score. 

But things are not as easy as it looks because the lanky pacer in De Lange will look to test the right hander with some short stuff, and would also benefit from the lively pitch at Dharamsala, where the first T20I is to be played. Rohit has always had the habit of getting out playing loose shots and he would have to guard against them.

De Lange looks fit and raring to go and the important thing  for him would be to maintain his fitness throughout the tour. He is the kind of bowler who could get maximum purchase from the Indian wickets if he bends his back and hits the deck hard.

T20 statistics:

ROHIT: M-42, R-739, HS-79*, Avg-30.79, SR-126.10

DE LANGE: M-5, W-7, BB-2/26, Avg-25.85, ER-9.36
 

Virat Kohli v/s Kagiso Rabada

This might seem to be a no match -  on paper Kohli is the overwhelming favourite to win the duel, but Rabada is a surprise package himself. Also the Indian Test captain has had problems against right arm pacers which makes Rabada a key player for the Proteas.

Rabada burst out on the big stage with a six wicket ODI haul against a resurgent Bangladesh side in July, which included a hat trick. His ability to bring the ball into the right handers and also take it away from them will keep Kohli on his toes. However, the Delhi lad has shown time and again that he is the man for the big occasion. So an aggressive duel is guaranteed.

Rabada after the six wicket haul against Bangladesh

KOHLI: M-28, R-978, HS-78*, Avg-46.28   SR-131.70    

RABADA: M-6, W-8, BB-3/30, Avg-22.12,ER-8.42
 

Ravichandran Ashwin v/s AB de Villiers

This is going to be a battle between (arguably) the best Indian bowler and the best Protea batsman. Ashwin has evolved over the years, and after capturing 21 wickets in the recently concluded Test series in Sri Lanka, the off-spinner will look to keep De Villiers at bay.The pitches at Cuttack and Kolkata where the ball is expected to grip the surface more than Dharamsala, would be good for Ashwin to try out his variations. 

But when it comes to innovation on the cricket ground, nobody does it better than the South African ODI skipper. He is very impressive with his feet and more often than not De Villiers is likely to dance down the track to upset Ashwin's rhythm. At the same time the South African should be careful, as Ashwin has the 'doosra' up his sleeve and although he doesn't use it like before, it's guaranteed that he would make use of it as a stock ball.

ASHWIN: M-26, W-25, BB-4/11, Avg-29.28, ER:7.32  

DE VILLIERS: M-61, R-1097,  HS-79*, Avg-22.38, SR-125.51 
 

MS Dhoni v/s Faf du Plessis

Staying under the tutelage of Dhoni for a long time at CSK will do a world of good to Du Plessis, as he will surely try and replicate Dhoni's tricks of the trade. Recently the South African also said that he wanted to implement the CSK model in his team which makes the situation more interesting.

Dhoni has been out of the game for a fairly long time as he has retired from Tests, and it would be interesting to see how Mahi copes up with challenges of not playing competitive games recently.

Both are excellent batsmen for their respective teams and the middle order burden would be shared by them but at the end of the day the one who would win the battle of minds will take the game away his opposition.

DHONI: M-50, R-849, HS-48*, Avg-33.96, SR-116.30

DU PLESSIS: M-24, R-805, HS-119, Avg-42.36, SR-135.75
 

Suresh Raina v/s Imran Tahir

Imran Tahir has been billed to grab the limelight in this series as he comes off  the back of a highly successful outing against the Kiwis back home.

On the other hand like his ODI and CSK skipper, Raina has been on break from the game since the Bangladesh ODI series. The left hander will not find the going smooth as Tahir will keep teasing him with conventional flighted leg breaks and the quicker ones. Raina being the aggressor that he is, would like to take the aerial route on most occasions. A cat and mouse battle on cards.

RAINA: M-44, R-947, HS-101, Avg-32.65, SR-135.47

TAHIR: M-16, W-25, BB-4/21, Avg-14.68, ER-6.22

Amit Mishra v/s Hashim Amla

Mishra has been going through a dream run of late. Having had an outstanding Sri Lanka tour,  a place in the T20 team for him is guaranteed along with Ashwin and ahead of Harbhajan Singh, in case India go with two spinners at Dharamsala.

Hashim Amla never gives the impression of a trademark T20 batsman, but he does the job i.e to get the runs at a healthy pace with orthodox cricketing shots. 

Sound technique will be the key for the South African while facing the leggie, who heavily relies on his leg breaks and pushes in the googly to surprise the batsmen.On his previous tour to India Amla was almost unstoppable, so this time also he will be the most prized wicket for the 'men in blue'.

MISHRA: M-7, W-11, BB-3/26, Avg-15.27, ER-6.46

AMLA: M-28, R-662, HS-56, Avg-25.46, SR-121.69